[Granulocytic sarcoma (chloroma) in ophthalmology]

Granulocytic sarcoma (chloroma) is a tumor composed of granulocytic precursor cells, preceding or more often occurring during the course of myelogenous leukemia. Three ophthalmic localisations, two in the orbit and one in the uvea, are reported, two cases concerning young adults (29 years) and the third a 10-year-old boy. In all three cases, the tumor preceded the hematologic disease (18 months in the first case, 10 months in the second case, 2 years in the third case). In such cases (when the tumor becomes clinically apparent before the leukemia) diagnosis is often very difficult but can be assisted by studying the morphology of the cells, which show occasional eosinophilic myelocytes. Histochemical staining for esterase activity (Naphtol A.S.D. Chloracetate stain) has greatly improved the ability to make a histopathologic diagnosis before the hematologic manifestations.